This invention pertains to a device adapted to support the body of a paraplegic in an upright position so that the person can be easily moved from place to place; and further, so that a change of position is possible.
Paraplegic patients who have lost the use of their legs because of muscular or nerve disorder or deterioration are frequently confined to a wheel chair or bed. However, it is often necessary -- or at least desirable -- to move such a patient from a sitting position in one place to a similar position in another -- for example, from a wheel chair to an automobile seat and back again. Also, such a patient often tires of just sitting or lying down and may prefer to stand for awhile.
By the use of my device, I make possible the fulfillment of both goals with relative ease. I do this by means of a device having a platform on which the patient's feet may be set, and a framework above the platform adapted to engage the body of the patient at various points so that it will remain erect.
Previous devices have been built to assist a paraplegic to rise, but none has provided full support so that the patient can stand for as long as he may desire -- even to the point of doing useful work in the standing position.